Whenever I have an opportunity to acquaint new people with our local history collection there are certain items and sets that I can’t help but point out. One of these sets is Kalamazoo County Records of Soldiers & Sailors in the Great War. This is actually two sets of scrapbooks; a seven volume set for World War I and a 20 volume set for World War II. They were put together during the Wars to keep track of everyone from Kalamazoo County who served. Each page of the scrapbooks is a form with space for the person’s name, address, personal and family information as well as their war record. Newspaper articles are often pasted to the backside containing further information about the service of the soldier or sailor. While not every form is completely filled out, valuable information can be obtained for each person remembered in these scrapbooks. As we get further and further from these monumental events in our nation’s history it is comforting to know that the individuals from our area who took part will continue to be known and remembered through our collection.

Whenever I have an opportunity to acquaint new people with our local history collection there are certain items and sets that I can’t help but point out. One of these sets is Kalamazoo County Records of Soldiers & Sailors in the Great War. This is actually two sets of scrapbooks; a seven volume set for World War I and a 20 volume set for World War II. They were put together during the Wars to keep track of everyone from Kalamazoo County who served. Each page of the scrapbooks is a form with space for the person’s name, address, personal and family information as well as their war record. Newspaper articles are often pasted to the backside containing further information about the service of the soldier or sailor. While not every form is completely filled out, valuable information can be obtained for each person remembered in these scrapbooks. As we get further and further from these monumental events in our nation’s history it is comforting to know that the individuals from our area who took part will continue to be known and remembered through our collection.